Light show to mark the 25th anniversary of the Customs House in South Shields

Bosses at South Tyneside’s biggest theatre are planning to make light of their 25th anniversary celebrations.
How the NOVAK team lit up The Queens Hotel, Leeds, in 2017 as part of the Light Night Leeds project.How the NOVAK team lit up The Queens Hotel, Leeds, in 2017 as part of the Light Night Leeds project.
How the NOVAK team lit up The Queens Hotel, Leeds, in 2017 as part of the Light Night Leeds project.

The Customs House, in Mill Dam, South Shields, is planning a spectacular open-air sound and light show to celebrates its milestone year on Friday, October 25, Saturday, October 26 and Sunday, October 27

The free show will see the projection of a film about The Customs House on to the historic building along with music and a colourful walkway leading down to the venue.

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The show is being organised by NOVAK, an award-winning creative design agency, who won the commission from The Customs House and The Cultural Spring, an Arts Council England funded project working to increase arts participation in South Tyneside and Sunderland.

The NOVAK team - Keith Daniels, Adam and Elliot Thomson.The NOVAK team - Keith Daniels, Adam and Elliot Thomson.
The NOVAK team - Keith Daniels, Adam and Elliot Thomson.

Adam Finlay, studio director of NOVAK, said: “The celebration will be a journey through time, reflecting the varied past of the building and showcasing the variety of entertainment it provides,

“We completed a huge amount of research around the history of The Customs House and what the building means to the people of South Tyneside and the wider region.”

The team have distilled the story of The Customs House into eight scenes for the sound and light show which will play on a 15-minute loop from 6pm to 10pm on the evenings.

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Adam added: “We’ll be projecting on to two sides of The Customs House and our film will tell the story of the building – and how the town of South Shields grew up around The Customs House when it was established for its original use.”

Ray Spencer, executive director at The Customs House, added: “We’ve come a long way during our first quarter of a century as an arts and culture venue and I think NOVAK’S ambitious plans for our celebrations will be a great way to mark and enjoy our anniversary.”

The Customs House was formerly a customs post, built in the 1860’s.

The Grade II listed building opened its doors in November 1994, providing South Shields with a new theatre and its first cinema in 12 years.